In 1982, Zippo celebrated the 50th anniversary of its lighters by producing a replica of an early model for the first time ever. It was a flat bottomed, solid-brass model and had a diagonally-cut line on both the top of the lid and the bottom of the case. This was the reproduction of the 1937 model and came in a box that had the same design as the one used between 1935 and 1940, which bore the illustration of the "Windproof Beauty".

The Commemorative box had a gold finish rather than the original silver finish. This reproduction was based on the 1935 prototype box that was never used in production. The Vintage Series made its first debut in 1985; it was a reproduction of the square-shaped 1937 model. While the Commemorative Zippo Lighter was a reproduction of the 1937 model, which was manufactured by pressing. In 1988, the reproduction of the 1932 model was offered only through subscription. The original 1932 Zippo lighters are extremely rare these days.

The reproduction model had a 1/4 inch thick plastic raised bottom to accommodate a regular inside unit and the regular inside hinge was placed outside of the case. To commemorate its 60th anniversary, Zippo sold a set of six reproduction models. The replica of the 25th anniversary model, which was produced in 1957, is the one that mostly resembles the original.

The package is part of the Zippo art. By appearance, the lighter boxes are roughly classified into 12 different size categories. But, if the mount-style differences and specially made series boxes are taken into account, the number would total well over 30 categories. The mount used between 1932 and 1933 was plain cardboard with a lighter-shaped cutout, covered with matte-black paper. The paper was switched to a glossy style that was used from the year 1933 until 1936. Zippo has offered a free repair service, which supports its lifetime guarantee, since its foundation. Up until 1940, a repaired Zippo was returned in the package in which the Zippo was sent for the service. If this was not possible, the Zippo was delivered in a brand new box.

From 1941, the company used collapsible boxes for returning Zippos that had been sent back for repair. Return boxes for repaired Zippos were used until 1951; from 1952, the new box was introduced for regular Zippo lighters and the return boxes were changed to the same striped boxes as the regular ones. Since then, the boxes for returns were changed, following the modifications to regular models, until 1978. Then the use of boxes was terminated, the last boxes were decorated with the flame design. From 1981 to 1986, a plastic package was used.

When George Blaisdell bought the patent to the Austrian windproof lighter design, he was onto an American desire and need that remain potent in the culture for decades to come. The Zippo lighter was windproof, refillable, and had an unprecedented warranty for repairs.

Since 1933, the Zippo lighter has been providing smokers, campers, hikers and the like an invaluable tool for gaining quick and reliable access to a flame. With a flick of the lid, a Zippo provides a light in just about any weather conditions, including cold windy and cold temperatures.

Unlike other lighters, the benefits of a Zippo lighter include constant flame, a refillable fluid compartment, a rust-proof body and an easy access flame. Many people fiddle for hours with standard lighters, either trying to remove the child safety lock or hold down the hot depressor. With a Zippo, you need only to flip the lid and hold the the lighter, which adds stability and assuredness to its users.

The Zippo also comes with an excellent lifetime warranty, it is so reliable that Zippo services over 100,00 lighters every year. With all these great benefits, I am sure a Zippo is a great thing for anyone to own.

In 2007 Zippo released a butane gas lighter called the Zippo BLU, the next step in the evolution of the perfect flame. The wind-resistant Zippo BLU lighter is like no other in delivering a consistent, clean-burning blue flame with no odor or aftertaste. Although it still uses a flint wheel, there is a difference in case design and the lighter has no internal user-serviceable parts. Unlike the classic Zippo lighter, the Zippo BLU uses butane instead of light fluid.

Zippo began to engrave initials and providing two types of metal insignia on the lighter the "Scotty Group", depicting dogs, and the "Drunk", portraying a drunkard leaning on a gaslight pole in 1936. The engraving of the initials cost the owner of the lighter one dollar, or 75 cents for an insignia. The return shipment was paid by the owner, C.O.D. The initials were engraved in a frame against a background color. The various colors includes: red, green, blue, yellow, orange, purple, and white. During the thirties and forties, initialed gifts were very popular. It gave the consumer the sense of individuality.

In 1936, Zippo appeared in a mail-order catalog. It was a wholesale catalog of a company in Minnesota directed to retail stores. The retail price was $2.00 which increased slightly from the price Zippos first sold for. Blaisdell also visited many retail stores all over the country to make business relations.

Modern Zippo lighters are much more complex than you would think. In short this is how your Zippo works: The flint wheel is spun causing a spark in the wick; The tube passing all the way from the inner part of the Zippo to the wick contains the fuel used for the Zippo’s ignition; When lit, fuel is constantly passing through the previously mentioned tube at a slow rate to make it burn slowly. Due to the nature of the Zippo’s fuel, this whole process is very slow, but that is good because it helps save fuel.

Even though this might seem like a simple thing to accomplish, take note that a modern Zippo lighter contains in between 22 and 40 pieces. In order to make a Zippo lighter, more than 110 different manufacturing operations are required.

One of the main downsides for Zippo lighters, is the fact that its fuel evaporates very quickly during certain seasons of the year. During summer, evaporation is extremely fast and it can take less than a week for a Zippo’s fuel to evaporate completely. Here are a few ways to help prevent the fuel from evaporating so quickly:

Buy and store your Zippo in a zip-lock bag, it may help to stop, or greatly reduce fuel evaporation, especially if you are going to be outdoors.

If you are going to be indoors, then you should place your Zippo somewhere away from the sun. If you have a basement, that is the best place to keep your Zippo lighter stored. Other good places to keep your Zippo include inside a closet, under your bed, or in a sealed container.

As a note of general precaution, don’t ever leave your Zippo lighter anywhere exposed to the sun because this is very dangerous.

Here are some interesting facts about Zippo Lighters that I thought you might like to know. You never know when facts like these might come in handy!

1. In the 1937, Zippo lighters were first formally advertised.
2. The Zippo’s internal structure has remained virtually unchanged since the late 1930’s.
3. More than 300,000 Zippos were sold between the year 1934 and 1940 through the "Punchboard" advertisement. Eventually, the government banned this way of selling them as it was considered a "Game of chance".
4. A Zippo lighter saved the life of an American soldier fighting in the Belgian territory; an enemy bullet was fired straight to his heart only to be stopped by his Zippo.
5. If all the available Zippo lighters in the world were placed back to back, they could go from the United States to England and back again! That’s over 6000 miles of Zippo lighters back to back!

Pretty interesting stuff about Zippo Lighters, like I said, you never know when that information will come in handy.

In 1937, the sports related designs began to appear on the Zippo lighter. The first sports model was the 275, this number represented the price of the model, which was sold for $2.75. The 275 model with a carrying strap also appeared in the Sports Series. Earlier sports models included the Golfer, the Fisherman, the Bulldog, the Hunter, the Greyhound, and the Elephant. In 1938, the Scotch Terrier, the Fisherman and the Bulldog were the only models on the Sports Series.

In 1959, models in the New Sports Series displayed designs on both the bottom and the lid. This series featured six models. Five of the models depicted five types of sports and their players. The other was a Slim Zippo Lighter depicting a woman bowling. From 1970 to 1981 another Sports Series was introduced without the designs on the lid. Some models shifted from the earlier Sports Series to the Town and Country Series. Many of the animal designs are now included in the Wildlife Series. Today there are numerous sport Zippo Lighters, with all major sports included.

Unlike standard lighters, the benefits of the Zippo lighter include it’s constant flame, a refillable lighter fluid compartment, a rust-proof body and an easy to access flame. Many people mess around all the time for hours with standard lighters while trying to remove the child safety lock or hold down the hot depressor. With the Zippo lighter, you need only to flip the lid, flip the wheel and hold the full body of the Zippo which adds stability and assuredness to users.

The Zippo lighter also comes with a iron-clad lifetime warranty. The Zippo warranty is so reliable, that the company services over 100,000 Zippos every year and has produced over 400 million Zippos in the 70+ years it’s been in operation. That is an awesome statistic, they know the lighters are great quality and they are still willing to fix them because they know that mistakes can happen during production!